PRESIDENT (3) - Bush easily took a state that has gone Republican for the last 40 years.

SENATE - Republican Lisa Murkowski led former Gov. Tony Knowles, despite resentment from many voters that her father, Frank Murkowski, appointed her to his old job when he became governor in 2002.

HOUSE - Remains: 1R. Incumbent Don Young, who calls himself the "congressman for all Alaskans," won a 17th term.

PROPOSITIONS - Alaskans rejected a measure to legalize and tax the sales of marijuana. Another measure fueled by the Murkowski controversy to eliminate appointments to fill Senate vacancies was trailing in the polls.

EXIT POLL - A quarter of voters said they had served in the military. They voted for Bush by nearly 3 to 1.

ARIZONA:

PRESIDENT (10) - Bush racked up double-digit win.

SENATE - Popular Republican Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record), seeking a fourth term, drew broad support across political and demographic lines; he edged out Stuart Starky among Democrats and grabbed a majority of support from independents.

HOUSE - 33D, 20R. California's heavily Democratic congressional delegation was set to return to Washington with two new faces among its 53 members. Republican Dan Lungren won a Sacramento-area seat, and Democrat Jim Costa will fill the seat now held by retiring Democratic Rep. Cal Dooley.

PROPOSITIONS - Voters rejected two expensive casino gambling initiatives, but approved sale of $3 billion in bonds to pay for embryonic stem cell research. Measure to roll back "three strikes" sentencing law was too close to call.

EXIT POLL - Four in 10 voters earning more than $150,000 chose Kerry, despite his promises to roll back a tax cut.

COLORADO:

PRESIDENT (9) - Bush enjoyed a comfortable margin of victory despite late visits by John Kerry to the state where he was born.

SENATE - State Attorney General Ken Salazar gave Democrats a pickup in a solidly Republican state, sliding by Republican beer executive Peter Coors in a tight race. Salazar becomes the first Hispanic senator in more than a quarter-century.

HOUSE - 4R, 2D with a final race outstanding. Salazar's brother, Democrat John Salazar, was neck-in-neck with Republican Greg Walcher in the one race for an open seat. All six incumbents - four Republicans and two Democrats - won easily.

PROPOSITIONS - The closely watched referendum over whether to split Colorado's electoral votes based on the popular vote was soundly rejected. Voters approved a 64-cent state cigarette tax to fund health and education programs.

PRESIDENT (4) - Tight race at the end, but Kerry pulled off victory in a state that's gone Democratic in every election but two since gaining statehood. Islands briefly became battleground at campaign's end after polls showed tight race.

PROPOSITIONS - Four constitutional amendments on ballot, all relating to crime and criminal prosecution, won approval. State attorney general and the Honolulu prosecutor backed them; opponents had said they would infringe on civil rights.

EXIT POLL - One in four voters strongly approved the U.S. decision to go to war with Iraq (news - web sites) and nearly all of them voted for the incumbent. Of the 35 percent of voters who strongly disapproved of the decision, nearly all went to Kerry.

IDAHO:

PRESIDENT (4) - Bush won nearly 70 percent of the vote, one of the highest totals in the heavily Republican state's history.

SENATE - GOP incumbent Michael Crapo raised $2 million - and spent over a third of it - to fend off an anemic write-in challenge. Crapo got more than 99 percent of the vote.

HOUSE - Remains 2R. Underfunded Democrats offered little resistance to Michael Simpson and Butch Otter, who plans a bid for governor in two years.

EXIT POLL - Eight in 10 Idaho voters made up their minds about the presidential race a month or more before the polls opened, and seven of 10 had settled on Bush.

MONTANA:

PRESIDENT (3) - Bush an easy winner.

GOVERNOR - Democrat Brian Schweitzer, who campaigned as an outsider promising bipartisan rule, scored a firm victory over Republican Secretary of State Bob Brown for office GOP has held for 16 years. Schweitzer made history by running with a Republican lieutenant governor.

SENATE - Democrat Harry Reid, the Senate minority whip, easily defeated Republican challenger Richard Ziser and could be a contender for the minority leader's job left vacant by the defeat of South Dakota's Tom Daschle.

PROPOSITIONS - Nevadans voted to raise the minimum wage and to give more protection to doctors from medical malpractice lawsuits. They also made education a top state budget priority.

EXIT POLLS - Exit polls showed Kerry ahead by a narrow margin and Nevadans concerned about a Bush-endorsed nuclear waste dump in the state. But while Kerry led in populous Las Vegas, he trailed in Republican-heavy Reno and in more conservative rural areas.

NEW MEXICO:

PRESIDENT (5) - Bush and Kerry were locked in an extremely tight race with Bush about 3,600 votes ahead. Nearly 30,000 absentee and provisional ballots remained uncounted.

HOUSE - 4D, 1R. Rep. David Wu (news, bio, voting record) trounced Republican Goli Ameri, who attacked Wu in television ads, citing an October newspaper report that Wu tried to force a girlfriend to have sex in the 1970s.

EXIT POLL - Nearly two of every three women surveyed cast their ballots for Kerry. Hispanics supported the Democratic candidate by a 4-to-1 margin.

UTAH:

PRESIDENT (5) - Bush's win was a foregone conclusion.

SENATE - Another safe win for the GOP: two-term incumbent Bob Bennett coasted to a huge victory over Democrat Paul Van Dam, a former attorney general.

GOVERNOR - In a battle of household names, Republican Jon Huntsman Jr., trade official under President Bush (news - web sites) and heir to a chemical fortune, defeated Scott Matheson, son of Utah's last Democratic governor.

HOUSE - Remains 2R, 1D. Matheson's brother, Rep. Jim Matheson (news, bio, voting record), held onto his seat despite a barrage of negative 11th hour campaigning by his opponent, John Swallow. The race was a rematch of 2002.

OTHER - Democrat Peter Corroon barely won the Salt Lake City mayor race, beating a replacement candidate for who only got on the Republican ballot when incumbent Nancy Workman quit amid felony charges of misusing public money.

EXIT POLL - Eight out of 10 Mormons went for Bush.

WASHINGTON:

PRESIDENT (11) - Kerry claimed a comfortable triumph in a state that no Republican has won in 20 years.

GOVERNOR - Attorney General Christine Gregoire led Dino Rossi, Republican businessman and former state senator, by just 32 votes at one point early Wednesay with hundreds of thousands of absentee votes outstanding in race to succeed Democratic Gov. Gary Locke.

HOUSE - 6D, 3R. In a tight race for the open 8th, Republican Dave Reichert, the sheriff who hunted down the Green River Killer, led talk radio host Dave Ross.

PROPOSITIONS - Voters adopted a Lousiana-style primary system that would send the top two vote-getters to the general election regardless of party.

EXIT POLL - Washington's wealthiest residents backed Kerry by wide margins, while nationally most people earning more than $100,000 a year voted for Bush.

EXIT POLL - Bush performed strongly among those who said they had a favorable opinion of Cheney, while Kerry had strong support among those who have an unfavorable opinion of Cheney. About two-thirds of Wyoming voters said they had a favorable opinion of Cheney.

HOUSE - Current: 5R, 2D. All incumbents won, including first-term Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, who sought re-election in a district Democrats had hoped to capture.

PROPOSITIONS - Voters were divided over a measure to repeal segregation-era language from the state constitution. The measure, which remained undecided early Wednesday, drew criticism from opponents who claimed it could trigger a court order to increase public school funding, risking a potential tax increase.

EXIT POLL - Bush won in every age range, including 18-to-24-year-old voters and more than two-thirds of those over 65.

EXIT POLL - Voters who believe nation is safer from terrorism now than in 2000 went for Bush by a 9-1 margin.

FLORIDA:

PRESIDENT (27) - President Bush claimed victory in the nation's top battleground state, four years after it took a 36-day recount and U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) decision to settle the battle of Florida.

SENATE - Republican Mel Martinez held slight lead over Democrat Betty Castor and claimed victory in a tight race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Bob Graham (news, bio, voting record). Castor indicated she may challenge the results. Martinez would be state's first Hispanic senator, Castor its second female senator.

HOUSE - 18R, 7D. Republican Rep. Katherine Harris (news, bio, voting record), vilified by Democrats while she served as secretary of state during 2000 recount, won in rematch with Sarasota attorney Jan Schneider. Republican Connie Mack IV, son of the ex-senator, took seat given up by new CIA (news - web sites) director Porter Goss.

PROPOSITIONS - Voters approved a $1-an-hour hike in the state minimum wage and approved an initiative to limit privacy rights of girls under age 18, so that law could be changed to require parental notice if minors seek abortions.

EXIT POLL - Nearly eight in 10 voters picked their candidate more than a month ago. Kerry got a strong majority from people who made up their minds over the last month.

GEORGIA:

PRESIDENT (15) - Bush trumped his 2000 margin of victory, getting 59 percent of the vote this time, compared to 55 percent then.

HOUSE - Democratic newcomer John Barrow and Republican freshman Rep. Max Burns (news, bio, voting record) remained locked in a race too close to call. Democrat Jim Marshall easily survived a GOP threat, while Democrat Cynthia McKinney clinched the seat she lost two years ago to Majette.

PROPOSITIONS - Opponents of the state's new constitutional ban on gay marriages vowed to take it to the courts after it passed by more than a 3-to-1 margin.

EXIT POLL - With touch-screen machines in every precinct, nine of 10 voters said they were confident their votes would be accurately counted.

OTHER - Former Gov. Julian Carroll, a Democrat, made a return to politics with a state Senate win over the governor's brother, Republican Harold Fletcher.

EXIT POLL - Nearly three-fourths of voters who described themselves as evangelical or born-again Christians backed Bush, and six in 10 supported Bunning.

LOUISIANA:

PRESIDENT (9) - Bush easily took the state that neighbors his native Texas.

SENATE - Rep. David Vitter (news, bio, voting record) won a slim majority and barely avoided a runoff, becoming the first Republican from Louisiana to serve in the Senate since Reconstruction.

HOUSE - Remains 5R, 2D. Republican Bobby Jindal, who lost the governor's race last year, won to become the first Indian American in Congress. Republican Billy Tauzin III advanced to Dec. 4 runoff for the seat vacated by his father. He'll face Democrat Charlie Melancon.

PROPOSITIONS - Amendment established constitutional right to hunt and fish.

EXIT POLL - Although women nationwide were more likely to vote for Kerry, Bush was the choice of 60 percent of Louisiana's women.

MISSISSIPPI:

PRESIDENT (6) - Bush swept in a state that has gone Republican in every presidential election since 1980.

HOUSE - Remains 2R, 2D. All four of Mississippi's incumbent congressmen won re-election, including Democrat Bennie Thompson, who faced a rematch against Republican Clinton LeSueur in a poor, primarily rural District stretching through the Delta.

HOUSE - Remains 4R, 2D. Republican Bob Inglis easily recaptured the 4th District seat, which he gave up six years ago. It came open when DeMint began his quest for Senate.

PROPOSITIONS - Ballot question lifting the requirement that bars and restaurants pour drinks from miniature bottles of liquor like those used on airliners was approved by a 3-2 margin.

EXIT POLL - Bush grabbed support from about 21 percent of minority men but only from about 12 percent of minority women. The state's population is almost 30 percent black.

TENNESSEE:

PRESIDENT (11) - Blowout for Bush, who recaptured 2000 rival Al Gore's home state in 14-percentage point landslide.

HOUSE - Remains 5D, 4R. All incumbents win another term. Democrat Lincoln Davis had the only serious race - a repeat of his 2002 victory over Tullahoma alderwoman Janice Bowling.

EXIT POLL - A third of Tennessee voters said "moral values" was the most important issue in choosing a president. Of those voters, nine of 10 chose Bush.

TEXAS:

PRESIDENT (34) - What'd you expect? Bush, former governor and favorite son of Crawford, claimed state and nation's second-largest trove of electoral votes.

HOUSE - 21R, 11D. After GOP-led redistricting, Chet Edwards was only one of five incumbent Democrats to win competitive races in Republican-tilted districts. Losers were Martin Frost, Max Sandlin, Nick Lampson and Charlie Stenholm.

PROPOSITIONS - Voters in Arlington, home of the Texas Rangers, approved a tax hike to pay half the $650 million price tag for new Dallas Cowboys stadium.

EXIT POLL - Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed said they supported Bush's decision to invade Iraq. Bush also majority of the Hispanic vote, improving on his mark of four years ago.

VIRGINIA:

PRESIDENT (13) - It looked close early on, but Bush picked up the rural vote, allowing Republicans to keep alive their presidential win streak going back 40 years.

HOUSE - Old: 10R, 9D. New: 10D, 9R. Phil Crane, 35-year veteran congressman and most senior Republican in the House, lost to Democratic businesswoman Melissa Bean, who argued that his long service didn't add up to clout in the House.

EXIT POLL - One-third of conservatives and four of 10 Republicans chose Obama over the staunchly conservative Keyes.

INDIANA:

PRESIDENT (11) - Bush rolled to easy victory in state that hasn't backed a Democrat for White House since Lyndon Johnson.

GOVERNOR - Former Bush budget director Mitch Daniels notched comfortable win over Democratic Gov. Joe Kernan, who took office last year upon death of Gov. Frank O'Bannon.

HOUSE - 6R, 3D before election. Race between GOP challenger Mike Sodrel and incumbent Democrat Baron Hill in 9th District too close to call early Wednesday. Hill win would maintain the pre-election party breakdown.

PROPOSITIONS - A proposed bistate sales tax to benefit the arts as well as renovations of two professional sports stadiums in Kansas City, Mo., was soundly defeated in two counties on the Kansas side of the metropolitan area.

EXIT POLL - Bush supplemented his solid support from majority Republicans with about one of every six votes cast by Democrats, who make up less than one-third of Kansas voters.

MICHIGAN:

PRESIDENT (17) - Kerry grabbed this state where disappearing manufacturing jobs have been a top concern.

HOUSE - Current: 9R, 6D. Former state Sen. John "Joe" Schwarz won Michigan's only open seat.

PROPOSITIONS - Michigan voters approved an amendment to the state constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Another new amendment requires new gambling venues to get voter approval.

EXIT POLL - Voters who considered the economy and jobs the top issue supported Kerry by about 4-1.

MINNESOTA:

PRESIDENT (10) - John Kerry dashed Republican hopes to claim the hotly contested state for the first time since 1972.

HOUSE - Remains 4R, 4D. Republican Mark Kennedy fended off unexpectedly strong challenge from Patty Wetterling, an advocate for missing children since her 11-year-old son was abducted in 1989.

EXIT POLL - Nearly one in 10 Election Day voters said they made up their minds in the final three days of the campaign, and a majority of that bunch sided with Kerry.

MISSOURI:

PRESIDENT (11) - Bush won a state that has picked the winner in all but one election (1956) in the last century.

OTHER - Another Carnahan, Russ's sister Robin, won a bid for secretary of state.

EXIT POLL - Asked which one issue mattered most, a quarter of Missourians cited "moral values." And nearly nine in 10 of those voters favored Bush.

NEBRASKA:

PRESIDENT (5) - Bush, unsurprisingly. Since 1964, Nebraska has backed Republicans every time.

HOUSE - 2R, 1 vacant. Republican Jeff Fortenberry will replace Republican Rep. Doug Bereuter (news, bio, voting record), who left in 13th term to become head of the Asia Foundation.

PROPOSITIONS - Voters rejected legislative proposal allowing two casinos anywhere in the state; also considering another proposal to allow two casinos in Omaha, and 4,900 video poker and slot machines around state. The latter proposal was too close to call early Wednesday.

EXIT POLL - Bush did well among voters who live in small cities and rural areas, where half of those polled in Nebraska live. Kerry fared nearly as well as Bush with voters from urban areas.

HOUSE - Current: 5R, 2D. All incumbents won, including first-term Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, who sought re-election in a district Democrats had hoped to capture.

PROPOSITIONS - Voters were divided over a measure to repeal segregation-era language from the state constitution. The measure, which remained undecided early Wednesday, drew criticism from opponents who claimed it could trigger a court order to increase public school funding, risking a potential tax increase.

EXIT POLL - Bush won in every age range, including 18-to-24-year-old voters and more than two-thirds of those over 65.

2
posted on 11/03/2004 7:54:54 AM PST
by Conspiracy Guy
(Ignorance, bigotry, envy, and gluttony are a few floor joists in the democratic platform.)

I have to admit, the Colorado GOP put up two weak candidates. Pete Coors was in a tough spot, but Greg Walcher was simply terrible. Not that the Democrat candidate brothers, Ken and John Salazar were much better. In the future, I look for big changes in the state GOP efforts at choosing candidates to run for federal offices.

More importantly, PresBush won the state by 7% and Prop36 was soundly defeated!

Coors seems to have undercut his support from social conservatives with his company's sponsorship of some pretty far-out, leftwing activities. He was, in my opinion, terrible on their Meet the Press debate. But still, these people who voted for Bush but not Coors should have looked at the big picture; a vote for Salazar or not for Coors is a defacto vote for the type of awful judge that will thwart social conservatives at every turn. Salazar can comfortably vote with the Left for the next 4 yrs or so before he has to worry about moderating his record.

The catagory of social conservative is pretty broad. I'm a social conservative. It concerned me that Coors Brewing Company has made some off the wall decisions in regards to their business dealings with the "gay community", but frankly, its none of my business. I believe many Christian conservatives had serious reservations with Pete Coors. OTOH. Coors ran on a pro-military/anti-terror, tax reform, pro-life, pro-family, anti-gay marriage agenda. He isn't a professional politician and at times that was painfully obvious during the campaign. Coors was a weak candidate, running against another weak candidate, Ken Salazar. Even though Salazar is more of a moderate Democrat and not a flaming liberal, I'd rather have Coors in the Senate. Actually I voted for Bob Schaffer in the primary and thought he had a shot at beating Salazar.

I agree that Coors is preferrable to Salazar. I agree that Christian conservatives should have looked at the big picture and judged him by what he promised to do in the Senate instead of his company's wacko policies. And I agree that Salazar was a weak candidate, which makes his victory that much more bitter.

I personally liked Coors, but I thought he was terrible in the Meet the Press debate. Salazar, too, was awful in the debate but didn't seem to be as bad as Coors to me. Its too bad, as I think Coors would have made a good Senator.

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